International Advisory Board Members

Biographies for IAB Members

Fredrick Ouko Alucheli is the Founder and Executive Director of the Action Network for the Disabled (ANDY) in Kenya. He has been particularly active in issues affecting young disabled people, including both children and youth. In January 2009, the Government of Kenya recognized him as a young achiever for his work in promoting a youth agenda in realizing Kenya’s national development goals. He is a Global Fellow for YouthActionNet 2009-2010.

Rosangela Berman-Bieler is Executive Director of the Inter-American Institute on Disability and Development. In addition to her focus on Latin America, she also has worked with projects in Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa. She brings expertise with Spanish- and Portuguese-language disability-related materials.

Bhargavi Davar is Founder of the Bapu Trust for Research on Mind and Discourse and Director of its research arm, the Center for Advocacy in Mental Health (CAMH) in Pune, India. Her work addresses human rights gaps in the mental health system in India. 

Javier Diez-Canseco was first Chairperson of the Special Committee on Disability in the Peruvian Congress from 2002 to 2006. He works with the organization Society and Disability (SODIS). He is a social scientist, journalist, and a committed human rights leader. He assisted in drafting an important Peruvian law addressing disability and has promoted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities both domestically and internationally.

A.K. Dube is the CEO for the Secretariat of the African Decade on Persons with Disabilities. He brings extensive knowledge about the challenges confronted by grassroots disabled people’s organizations (DPOs) throughout Africa. The Secretariat has produced some of its own materials for DPOs on fundraising and advocacy.

Ambrose Murangira is Board Chair of the Uganda National Association of the Deaf (UNAD). He has worked to improve the employment of young deaf people in Uganda and is one of the founding members of The World Bank Youth, Development and Peace (YDP) network. The World Federation of the Deaf recently voted him, unanimously, as the International Youth President for the WFD Congress in Durban next year.

Shoji Nakanishi (中西 正司) is chair of Disabled Peoples International - Asia Pacific. He brings many years of extensive expertise in the field of independent living, particularly in the Asian region. He also has been involved with the independent living field in Africa.

Silvia Judith Quan-Chan has been the Chief Officer of the Disability Rights Defense Unit at the Guatemalan Human Rights Procurator's Office since 2003. She was strongly involved in the Ad-Hoc process leading up to the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She has a post-graduate degree in gender studies and an MA degree in human rights.

Gerard Quinn is a professor and Director of the Centre for Disability Law and Policy at the National University of Ireland, Galway. He brings expertise in international comparative disability law and policy, along with expertise on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He helps co-ordinate the work of National Human Rights Institutions worldwide on disability issues.

Mrs. Ghazala Hameed is the Rehabilitation International (RI) National Secretary for Pakistan. She is involved with the Pakistan Society for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled and has a strong network of contacts, particularly in eastern Asia.

Biographies for Ex-Officio IAB Members

Robert Bacon is Director of Disability Policy and Training at the University of Iowa’s Center for Disabilities and Development.

David Baquis is an Accessibility Specialist in the Access Board’s Office of Technical and Information Services, an independent US federal agency that promotes accessibility for people with disabilities. He delivers presentations on electronic and information technology. He was formerly Director of the National Center on Assistive Technology.

Marca Bristo is President and CEO of Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago, a leading disability rights organization.  She has received numerous awards, including the Americans with Disabilities Act Award in recognition of her contribution to creating and passing the law.

Marcella David, JD, Professor of Law and International Studies and Associate Dean for International and Comparative Law at the University of Iowa. She has been a Special Assistant to the President for Equal Opportunity and Diversity and Associate Provost for Diversity. Professor David teaches, among other subjects, Introduction to Public International Law, International Organizations, US Foreign Relations Law, and Human Rights.

Lex Frieden is a professor at the Texas Institute for Rehabilitation and Research. He has been a leader in the independent living movement since the 1970s and has received two Presidential Citations for his work in the disability field.

Barbara LeRoy is a professor at the Developmental Disabilities Institute at Wayne State University in Detroit. She is a disability consultant to the Ministries of Education in New Zealand, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.

Maria Veronica Reina is Executive Director of the Global Partnership on Disability and Development. She participated in negotiations for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Diana Samarasan is Director of the Disability Rights Fund, which gives grants to disabled people’s organizations in developing countries that are advocating for improved implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She has been active for 12 years in the fields of disability, international health, and human rights.

Glen White is Director of the Research and Training Center on Independent Living at the University of Kansas and has worked in the field of rehabilitation and independent living for more than 30 years. Most recently, has conducted research and training in supportive entrepreneurship in Peru.